The use of paint stripes on road surfaces is the accepted method to indicate vehicle lanes, crossing lanes, parking areas and numerous other indicators. Various pavement marking techniques are well known in the art, including the use of traffic paint, thermoplastics, epoxy paints and preformed tapes. Most pavement marking systems are intended to be as durable and permanent as possible, and resistant to weathering and wear from traffic. Common road surfaces are asphalt and concrete. The removal of such striping is typically required when the road is to be resurfaced or if the indication is to be changed.
When polymers such as paint or plastic are used for roadway marking, the surface of the pavement is penetrated from ⅛-⅜ inch, so that mere surface removal of the marking material is not sufficient to remove the marking. Therefore, current pavement marking removal machines often employ various forms of cutting devices to remove the marking material, as well as a portion of the underlying layer of pavement material in order to effectively remove painted lines.
Commonly known methods for removal of such markings typically include the use of abrasive grinding wheels, material removing cutters, or blasting of abrasive particles against the material to be removed. However, the use of these devices often results in undesirable grooves in the pavement surface.
For example, one type of cutting machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,278 known as a “Road Pro” manufactured by Dickson Industries, Inc. This type of machine employs parallel passive shafts that extend between circular rotating end plates. Hardened steel star wheels are carried on the parallel passive shafts, and these star wheels strike and abrade the pavement surface. While this type of device is effective for removal of markings, it often creates excessive heat which may melt thermoplastic materials causing equipment to gum up.
Another approach to pavement marking removal is the use of diamond saw blades or cutters arranged to make a dado cut. Still other types of machines use grinders or shot blast as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,753,052; 4,376,358; 3,900,969; 4,336,671; 3,977,128 and 4,377,924. Unfortunately, these devices must remove a portion of the pavement material to effectively remove the marking, thereby leaving unsightly and potentially dangerous grooves in the pavement.
It is also known in the art to utilize high-pressure water jets to remove markings from pavement. The instant inventor teaches a Stripe Removal System in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/884,643, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. In addition, NLB Corporation markets a high pressure water jet system for removing paint from pavement under the name “STARJET”. BLASTERS Corporation markets a high pressure water device which is mounted on a truck similar to the STARJET device.
A common problem associated with these prior art devices relates to the requirement of multiple prime movers, e.g. internal combustion engines, for operation of the various systems necessary for effective stripe removal. For example, these devices utilize one engine for transport of the system, e.g. the truck engine. A second engine is required for operation of the high-pressure water pumps, which develop at least 25,000 PSI. In the devices equipped with a vacuum system, a third engine is required for operation of the vacuum pump. Internal combustion engines are generally heavy and therefore consume a substantial amount of the allowed overall weight of the vehicle. In addition, engines consume a large amount of the bed space available on the truck. System maintenance and fuel costs are also substantially increased with the requirement of multiple engines. Still yet, mounting multiple engines on a single vehicle frame causes problems with proper weight distribution among the truck's various axles. With the exception of the instant inventor's prior teachings, the prior art generally requires multiple vehicles or trailers to transport a suitable amount of equipment to complete a marking removal task.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a stripe removal system that is capable of eliminating the weight and maintenance of auxiliary engines used for powering deck mounted equipment. The system should provide power suitable to transport the system to a desired job site at typical highway speeds. Once at the job site the single prime mover should be configured to disconnect from a portion of the vehicle drive-line and connect to deck mounted equipment for supplying power thereto. In addition, the system should provide power to the drive axle of the vehicle in the form of a mechanical-hydrostatic drive suitable for propelling the system along a surface at speeds suitable for marking removal.